Should Vettori switch & play ODIs/IT20s again instead of Tests?

I'm sure there's others like me who find Vettori's decision to play tests at the expense of ODI's & T20's both ironic & frustrating considering he's a genuinely world-class performer in the shorter-forms, yet appears more & more unsuited to Test cricket at as time goes on.

Whilst he's arguably been the best no. 8 test batsman in history, I don't believe his technique is good enough to play at no.6. I know he's averaged 40 or so in the last few years, but for me there's a big difference in terms of expectation & approach when you bat at 7 or 8 as opposed to 6 where you're genuinely expected to score runs, and I think we saw signs of that in this latest series against SA.

The problem is then exacerbated since his bowling has declined to the degree to which he doesn't look like doing anything more than restricting the scoring & hence can't really be relied on as part of a 4 pronged attack.

Therefore.....Should Vettori do a 180 degree turn and pull out of Tests to play the shorter forms that actually brings his key strength of bowling economically into play ?

I think he should continue to play test matches, but as a batting allrounder in the top six.

He has test centuries against top eight sides at number six, so he is capable, despite failing against a very good South African attack.

I don't buy the argument in Vettori's case that he gets away with a lesser technique at number eight. Every side knows he is a key component of the batting, and they would be insane not to formulate plans to get rid of him.

Vettori needs to move up the order and become a fifth bowler.

Originally Posted by Bahnz

I need u like Henry Nicholls needs batting school
He was terrible in that series
I need u like Ross Taylor needed to be fit
He's way better than Henry Nicholls
And now all I can think about is your smile
and that ****** test series too
Losing to Australia sucked and I miss you

I think he should continue to play test matches, but as a batting allrounder in the top six.

He has test centuries against top eight sides at number six, so he is capable, despite failing against a very good South African attack.

I don't buy the argument in Vettori's case that he gets away with a lesser technique at number eight. Every side knows he is a key component of the batting, and they would be insane not to formulate plans to get rid of him.

Vettori needs to move up the order and become a fifth bowler.

So you believe he provides the NZ team more value playing Test cricket than if he played the shorter forms? Because that was effectively the question.

He is a world class ODI spinner but his short form batting is as effective as his long form bowling.

Do you want a batting allrounder in the test side, or a world class ODI spinner in the ODI side? Since we have no shortage of economical spinners who can bat (Nathan McCullum, Ronnie Hira, Bruce Martin et al), I'd prefer the batting allrounder since test standard allrounders are a scarce resource in New Zealand at present, though a few players are showing promise in the Shield.

If Vettori switched, we would need to replace him in the test side. That means the options are;

-Finding another allrounder (Ellis and Wells seem to be popular with the selectors at present)
-Promoting Bracewell to eight and bringing in the extra bowler (likely another spinner, who would be Nethula)

Little is expected of him? Players, commentators fans - everyone - know Vettori is the second most valuable wicket in the New Zealand side after Taylor. Some would argue he is the most valuable wicket.

Every time he comes to the crease at 180/6, everyone breathes a sigh of relief that Vettori is finally in.

Also, you've included as far back as 1997 in his statistics at number six, when he had the batting prowess of a duck. Hardly a representative sample of the batsman he is today.

Little is expected of him? Players, commentators fans - everyone - know Vettori is the second most valuable wicket in the New Zealand side after Taylor. Some would argue he is the most valuable wicket.

Lol, what a load of rubbish. So you think teams breathe a bigger sigh of relief when Vettori falls as opposed to McCullum, Ryder, Brownlie & Guptill then? righto.

It's possible this may have been the case back in 2009 when Vettori was at the peak of his powers, but certainly not these days.

Anyway Flem, my main contention that he provides far more benefit to the team in the shorter forms as opposed to me simply calling for his head in Tests. This is based on the assumption he doesn't want to play all forms.

The hard part for me about your main contention is he is a completely different player in the two formats (I think we agree there), so it depends on what you want in the team.

I think he is of more use in test matches, but not by a huge margin, because he is a genuine and our only test standard batting allrounder. On the other hand, we have a couple of good limited overs spinners who can bat. Nathan McCullum is no Vettori, but he is a solid bowler, and a better ODI batsman than Vettori.